Twelve matches, six wins each. Luke Littler vs Michael van Gerwen has become a box-office match over the last 12 months and the rivalry will reach its crescendo on Friday in the World Championship final.
Littler’s meteoric rise at the 2024 World Darts Championship, where he finished runner-up to Luke Humphries, has been backed up with the Premier League, World Series of Darts Finals and Grand Slam of Darts final titles.
Van Gerwen, meanwhile, did not win a televised tournament in 2024, which is the first time he has not won in a calendar year since 2011.
Friday’s final is by far the most important meeting between the pair, as Van Gerwen seeks a fourth world title and Littler a first.
So, how did we get here?
Littler puts down a marker but MVG responds
Two weeks after last year’s World Darts Championship, Littler made a nine-darter in his quarter-final win against Nathan Aspinall at the Bahrain Darts Masters and met Van Gerwen in the final on January 19.
It was the first of many meetings between two of darts’ most talented players and Littler came out on top 8-5 to lift his first senior PDC title on his World Series debut.
Van Gerwen vowed to be better for the next time the pair met; that he would “get” Littler. He did exactly that just a week later on home soil at the Dutch Darts Masters.
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Michael Bridge looks back at Luke Littler’s stunning route to success at the Bahrain Masters, which saw the 16-year-old beat some of the biggest names in darts as well as producing a nine-darter
A thrilling final saw both players going toe-to-toe and there was nothing to separate them until the very last leg when Van Gerwen punished a missed 170 from Littler to win 8-6.
“Luke put me under so much pressure,” said Van Gerwen, who won his 16th World Series of Darts crown.
“Luke has a very bright future ahead of him. We all know that, but you still want to stop him, and you have to do the right things against him, which is what I did tonight.
“His scoring power is immense so you have to keep on fighting, but I am glad that I was able to.”
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Michael van Gerwen edged Luke Littler 6-5 in a dramatic last-leg decider on night two of Premier League Darts
Big Premier League clashes
The format of the Premier League Darts means the world’s best eight players meet every Thursday over 17 weeks, so naturally we would see plenty of Van Gerwen vs Littler.
On Night 2 in early February, Littler missed two match darts in the Berlin final and Van Gerwen punished him to win 6-5 and let out a huge roar when he won, underlining how much it meant for the Dutchman to beat the teenager.
Two weeks later in Newcastle, Van Gerwen snatched victory again from Littler in a deciding leg, this time in the semi-finals, and he went on to win the night.
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Luke Littler missed a fist-bump from Michael van Gerwen to leave him awkwardly hanging during their Premier League semi-final in Newcastle in February. Their rivalry will be reunited at the the World Matchplay!
However, the next three matches went Littler’s way. On Night 7 in Nottingham, Littler averaged a sensational 114 with a stunning 6-2 quarter-final victory over Van Gerwen. That was the match where Van Gerwen “finished off” Littler’s nine-darter attempt.
Littler took full advantage of a below-par Van Gerwen with two 6-3 wins over the coming weeks, but the Dutchman won Night 11’s final with a 6-3 win of his own.
The last Premier League meeting was won by Van Gerwen 6-1, but Littler ultimately won the whole thing as MVG lost in the semi-finals to Humphries.
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The Shepmates are back with another hilarious commentary, this time on Luke Littler’s nine darter in the Premier League
Van Gerwen stuns Littler at World Matchplay
Van Gerwen and Littler drew each other in the first round of the World Matchplay and it was, surprisingly, a one-sided contest.
The three-time world champion knocked Littler out 6-1 but lost to Humphries in the final.
Littler got the better of Van Gerwen in the World Series of Darts semi-finals and at the European Tour, so he has the better recent form.
Looking at the bigger moments though, Van Gerwen has an edge and that could be important on Friday.
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The best action from the final batch of matches of round one at the World Matchplay Darts from Winter Gardens, Blackpool
What do Van Gerwen and Littler think of each other?
Michael van Gerwen:
“I think he’s great. What he’s done for the sport is great. Fair play to him.
“Television and social media is big which helps him. It’s good for darts in general. I don’t mind.”
Luke Littler:
“As I got older, I watched darts more and more. The first one [Van Gerwen match] I remember was the 2017 final when he beat Gary [Anderson].
“He’s been around for years and years and I’m sure he won’t change for anyone.”
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Luke Littler explains how he is dealing with fame, what he does to cope with the hectic schedule and gives his thoughts on Manchester United
What’s next?
Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen will meet in the World final on Friday night at Alexandra Palace
Luke Littler is one win away from creating history after reaching his second successive world championship final. The 17-year-old from Warrington will take on Michael van Gerwen, who is chasing his fourth World title after bulldozing his way to the final. Watch the drama unfold from 7.30pm this Friday on Sky Sports Darts.
Watch the Premier League Darts on Sky Sports
Littler celebrates with the Premier League Darts trophy
Watch all the action from the Premier League on Sky Sports with Luke Littler aiming to defend his title. The new Premier League season will begin in Belfast on Thursday, February 6, as darts’ biggest party returns to an unchanged line-up of 17 venues across the UK and Europe.
Who will win the Premier League Darts? Watch all the action on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
